Queue 'Homepage Featured'
6 lobby design tips
Lessons learned from designing hospital lobbies.
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
Editor's note: This article was published as part of our March 2013 report on hospital lobby design stategies.
Detroit's historic Whitney Building to be renovated for hotel, apartments
Detroit's David Whitney Building, a 19-story landmark erected in 1915, will be renovated for an Aloft hotel and apartments. The $82 million project involves Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, developer Roxbury Group and hotel management company Trans Inns Management. Financial partipants include the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., Michigan Economic Development Corp., and Invest Detroit.
Iconic 1915 structure, empty since 2000, will get new life as Aloft hotel plus urban apartment rentals.
Detroit's David Whitney Building, a 19-story landmark erected in 1915, will be renovated for an Aloft hotel and apartments.
Half of building owners use 'smart' technologies, says survey
IDC Energy Insights today announced new preliminary survey data showing 50% of the respondents reported that they use Smart Building technologies today, and another 33% stated they would use Smart Building technologies in the next six months or year.
A survey of 291 building owners by IDC Energy Insights shows that 50% of owners use smart building technologies, such as HVAC controls, lighting controls, and analytics/data management.
A survey of 291 building owners by IDC Energy Insights shows that 50% of owners use smart building technologies, such as HVAC controls, lighting controls, and analytics/data management.
Stanford researchers develop nanophotonic panel that reflects sun's heat out of the atmosphere
It sound like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanophotonic material that not only reflects sunlight and prevents heat from being absorbed, but it actually beams the thermal energy at a specific wavelength so that it leaves the earth's atmosphere.
While still in the conceptual stage, new material could be the future of highly reflective building envelopes.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanophotonic material that not only reflects sunlight, but actually beams the thermal energy out of the earth's atmosphere.
Sustainable wood controversy leads to LEED ‘backlash bill’ in Florida House
A Florida House bill that says state agencies should decide on a project-by-project basis which green certification standards are used on state construction passed a subcommittee vote 12-1. The bill, which some are calling a LEED “backlash bill,” was prompted by the controversy over LEED’s policy of only recognizing wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Timber industry representatives want other sustainable wood standards recognized, asserting that the FSC’s standards are too burdensome and costly.
A Florida House bill that says state agencies should decide on a project-by-project basis which green certification standards are used on state construction passed a subcommittee vote 12-1.
PBS broadcast to highlight '10 Buildings That Changed America'
WTTW Chicago, in partnership with the Society of Architectural Historians, has produced "10 Builidngs That Changed America," a TV show set to air May 12 on PBS. Hosted by Geoff Baer, the program looks at important structures ranging from Thomas Jefferson's Virginia statehouse (1788) to the Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry (2003).
Baer explores how the buildings changed America's ideas about architecture. The full list:
Influential buildings range from Trinity Church, Boston, to the Seagram Building to Dulles Airport.
WTTW Chicago, in partnership with the Society of Architectural Historians, has produced "10 Builidngs That Changed America," a TV show set to air May 12 on PBS.
Small but mighty: Berkeley public library’s net-zero gem
The Building Team for Berkeley, Calif.’s new 9,500-sf West Branch library aims to achieve net-zero—and possibly net-positive—energy performance with the help of clever passive design techniques.
The Building Team for Berkeley, Calif.’s new 9,500-sf West Branch library aims to achieve net-zero—and possibly net-positive—energy performance with the help of clever passive design techniques.
Situated on a tiny, quarter-acre lot along bustling University Avenue, Berkeley, Calif.’s, new West Branch library may not be large in stature, but it’s one of the most significant library projects of the year.
Due to open in August, the 9,500-sf facility will join a handful of libraries across the country that are net-zero energy performers. And, if all goes as planned, the facility will achieve net-positive energy performance—supplying power back to the city’s electrical grid—and have a carbon-neutral footprint.
Shenzhen projects halted as Chinese officials find substandard concrete
State inspectors in Shenzhen, China, have found at least 15 local plants producing concrete with unprocessed sea sand. Thirty-one companies have been cited for violations, and eight were ordered to suspend business for a year. Construction on multiple projects in Guangdong Province—including the 660-m Ping'an Finance Center—has been halted during the inspection. (Only 80 meters of the Ping'an building has been erected so far; China Construction First Building Group Corp. Ltd. is the primary contractor.)
Projects affected by the shutdown include Ping'an Finance Center, set to become China's tallest building.
Construction on multiple projects in Guangdong Province—including the 660-m Ping'an Finance Center—has been halted after inspectors in Shenzhen, China, have found at least 15 local plants producing concrete with unprocessed sea sand, which undermines building stabity.
Will Google Glass revolutionize the construction process?
When Google introduced its wearable computer glasses, called Google Glass, last year, it opened many people's eyes (pardon the pun) to the power of augmented reality (AR)—where a person's view of the physical world is overlaid with a computer-generated sensory input, such as graphics or data.
Of course, AR has been around for years, and many tablet computer and smartphone apps utilize the technology, mostly for entertainment and gaming purposes.
An Australian architect is exploring the benefits of augmented reality in the design and construction process.
An Australian architect is exploring the benefits of augmented reality in the design and construction process.
World's tallest data center opens in New York
Sabey Data Center Properties last week celebrated the completion of the first phase of an adaptive reuse project that will transform the 32-story Verizon Building in Manhattan into a data center facility. When the project is completed, it will be the world's tallest data center.
The 32-story Verizon Building is being transformed into a mega data center.
Sabey Data Center Properties last week celebrated the completion of the first phase of an adaptive reuse project that will transform the 32-story Verizon Building in Manhattan into a data center facility. When the project is completed, it will be the world's tallest data center.
